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Somatosensation

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.

Somatic Spinal Reflexes

Somatic Spinal Reflexes

Somatic spinal reflexes are rapid, involuntary muscular responses to external stimuli that involve the somatic musculature and the spinal cord.
One of the most well-known somatic spinal reflexes is the stretch reflex, which is activated by the sudden stretching of a muscle. This reflex involves the activation of specialized sensory receptors called muscle spindles, which are located in the muscle tissue and detect changes in the length and speed of muscle contractions. When a muscle is suddenly...

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The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...

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Sympathetic Activation

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The sympathetic division can influence tissues and organs by releasing norepinephrine at peripheral synapses and distributing epinephrine and norepinephrine through the bloodstream. In times of crisis or stress, sympathetic activation occurs, which is regulated by sympathetic centers in the hypothalamus. As a result, sympathetic activation prepares the body for physical exertion, rapid ATP production, and heightened alertness, allowing individuals to respond effectively to challenging or...

Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Observing the Transformation of Bodily Self-consciousness in the Squeeze-machine Experiment

Observing the Transformation of Bodily Self-consciousness in the Squeeze-machine Experiment

Published on: March 8, 2019

Somatization and stimulus entrapment.

Russell Meares¹, Friederike Gerull, Anthony Korner

¹Westmead Hospital and Brain Dynamics Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. rmeares@med.usyd.edu.au

The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry

|April 11, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A "vicious circle" hypothesis explains somatization disorder, involving impaired pain inhibition and attention-driven amplification. Therapy focusing on inner material may help overcome this cycle.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Psychology

Background:

Somatization disorder, as defined by the DSM, is a common clinical presentation.
A
vicious circle
hypothesis is proposed to explain its underlying mechanisms.
This model integrates neurobiological and psychological factors.

Purpose of the Study:

To present a
vicious circle
hypothesis for somatization disorder.
To explore the roles of impaired inhibitory systems and attentional amplification.
To examine data from borderline patients as a model.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature and clinical data.
Focus on the
medial pain system
and its inhibitory functions.
Analysis of event-related potentials (P3a components) to assess prefrontal inhibitory function.

Main Results:

Somatization involves a failure of higher-order inhibitory systems in the
medial pain system
.
Attention amplifies stimulus intensity, exacerbated by attentional and sensory modulation failures.
Enlarged P3a components in borderline patients suggest diminished prefrontal inhibitory function.

Conclusions:

The
vicious circle
hypothesis provides a framework for understanding somatization.
Impaired inhibitory control within the
medial pain system
contributes to pain prominence.
Therapy targeting
inner
material may alleviate
stimulus entrapment
in somatization.